Step-by-Step Discovery Guide

Read time: 5 minutes

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Based on conversations with reps and sales leaders and the data we’ve gathered in poll, the toughest parts of sales right now are getting first meetings (54%) and not getting ghosted after the first call (41%).

This week, I’m sharing a formula for running impactful discovery calls that uncover critical needs and align your solution to high priority business problems. If you follow this process you will either disqualify opportunities quickly (so you don’t waste your time) or you will give yourself the best shot of not getting ghosted after the first call.

1. Pre-Call Research: Build a Unique Point of View (POV)

Effective discovery starts before the call, with thorough research that gives you a clear, tailored understanding of your prospect. Your goal here is to enter the conversation with a unique POV (point of view) that shows you understand their business and challenges beyond the basics.

Research Checklist:

• Company News and Blog: Check for recent press releases, funding announcements, product launches, or blog posts. These can indicate new priorities or strategic initiatives.

• CRM Notes: Review any historical notes or past interactions in your CRM to understand previous discussions and avoid redundant questions.

• LinkedIn Profiles: Look at the prospect's role, recent posts, and career history to see any specific interests or relevant experiences.

• Annual Reports or Case Studies: If available, these provide insights into recurring business themes, goals, or initiatives. Quick tip: upload them to ChatGPT and ask it to summarize it and give you the top initiatives the company is focused on.

Crafting Your POV: Synthesize your findings into a POV statement. This should show the buyer that you understand their context and have specific insights to bring to the table.

Example: “It looks like your team has been focused on [focus area], especially with [mention specific recent event, like new funding]. I’d love to hear how your team is involved in that and what your priorities are right now.”

Having this POV ready gives you immediate credibility so the prospect opens up to you about everything else.

2. Set the Agenda

Once you’ve introduced yourself and established your POV, take a moment to set a clear agenda. This not only puts the buyer at ease but also ensures you’re both aligned on the purpose of the call.

Agenda Script: “Here’s what I thought we could cover today: First, I’d love to understand more about [POV statement] and any other priorities you’re working on. Then, I can share some ways we might be able to help, and finally, we can discuss potential next steps if it makes sense. Does that sound fair?”

By outlining the agenda up front, you show respect for the buyer’s time, creating an efficient structure and inviting them to add any points they want to address.

3a. Short Company Overview (5 Minutes Max)

If the buyer has no idea who your company is, begin with a brief overview that introduces the top three problems you solve. Keep it concise and relevant to their industry or role. This is typically needed if you sourced this conversation from outbound prospecting. If they are an inbound lead this step can be skipped and you can jump right into the conversation.

Script Example: “To give you a quick introduction, we work with companies like yours to address three main challenges: [mention the three main problems your company can address]. How is that aligned with what you’re currently focused on?”

By asking if these problems resonate, you’ll quickly understand if you’re talking to a prospect who has a problem you can solve. If they don’t feel any of the problems you mentioned, then perhaps they aren’t a good fit.

3b. Problem Identification

The right types of questions will reveal their biggest pain points and give you insights into what needs solving now versus later. Your goal here is to uncover a highly urgent and important problem that needs to be solved. Most companies don’t have budget for exploratory projects anymore.

Key Questions:

• “What are the biggest challenges you’re facing that you’d regret not solving 3-6 months from now?”

  • Why It Works: This timeframe encourages buyers to focus on pressing issues rather than minor inconveniences, giving you insight into their critical priorities.

• “What’s going on in the business that’s making that a priority?”

  • Why It Works: This question helps you understand the ‘why’ behind the problem, tying their pain points to broader business initiatives.

Example Follow-Up: “Thank you for sharing that. From what I’ve heard, [summarize their key challenges briefly]. Is that accurate?”

This allows you to summarize and clarify what you’ve learned, setting you up to delve deeper into the conversation.

5. Root Cause Analysis

Your solution should address the root cause of a problem, not just the symptoms. By understanding the underlying factors driving the prospect’s problems, you’ll be able to position your solution more effectively.

• “What’s your opinion on why these problems are happening?”

  • Why It Works: This question lets the buyer share their perspective, which helps you zero in on the root cause, setting the stage to discuss how your solution addresses it effectively.

Follow-up Example: “Other leaders I’ve spoken to often mention [common root cause]. Do you think that might also be playing a role here?”

This frames the conversation as collaborative problem-solving, making it clear that you’re here to help, not just sell.

6. Broaden the Impact

Expanding the scope of the problem can increase its urgency. When multiple teams are affected by a buying decision, decision-makers are more likely to prioritize finding a solution.

• “Who else in the (lab or company) is affected by these challenges or potential solution, and how?”

  • Why It Works: Problems that impact several departments are often more urgent. This question also helps you identify additional stakeholders who could become a champion for your solution.

Follow-up Example: “We’ve found that challenges in [specific area] often impact [other department/group]. Have you seen that as well?”

By broadening the impact, you highlight the importance of solving the problem sooner rather than later and you begin the process of multi-threading.

7. Solution Scoping

You’ll notice we haven’t talked about our solution at all yet. It’s been fully centered around the prospect.

Now that you understand the buyer’s pain points, ask about their solution requirements. Here, you’ll uncover the buyer’s ideal criteria and have a chance to highlight any “unconsidered needs” that align with your unique capabilities.

• “What do you think you need in a solution to solve these challenges?”

  • Why It Works: This gives insight into the buyer’s expectations and helps you assess how well your solution matches up. If there’s a misalignment, it’s better to address it now.

Identifying Unconsidered Needs: If you’ve identified gaps in their solution requirements, connect those to your differentiated capabilities. Have you also thought about how the what happens if [scenario occurs]? We can solve that with [unique capability].

By connecting unconsidered needs to your unique capabilities, you start to rig the decision criteria in your favor. If you uncover a need that becomes an integral part of the decision criteria and you’re the only solution that solves it, then you become the only viable solution to their problem. See 4 Tips to Win Competitive Deals

8. Setting Next Steps

If you don’t get the next step on the calendar your chance of getting ghosted goes way up.

3 Key Components for Setting Next Steps:

1. Watch the clock: Leave at least 5 minutes for this stage to avoid rushing the close.

2. Make a strong recommendation: Suggest specific topics for the next meeting based on what you’ve learned.

3. Invite all relevant parties: You should know who else is impacted by the problem or decision. Make sure they get involved in the next steps.

4. Schedule the call live: Send the calendar invite while on the call. Avoid sending a scheduling link and hoping they’ll set it up; this can lead to ghosting.

Example Script: “Looking at the time, we have about 5 minutes left. I’ve really enjoyed our conversation, and I think we could help with [priority or challenge]. May I make a recommendation for the next steps? If it sounds good, let’s set up a follow-up to go deeper into [specific area] and given that [person 1] and [person 2] are impacted by this, should we include them? What time should we schedule for next week?”

Conclusion

By following these discovery call steps, you’ll either disqualify deals early, or uncover problems, create value, and drive urgency so you don’t get ghosted.

1. Pre-Call Research: Build a unique POV to show you understand the prospect’s world.

2. Set the Agenda: Establish a clear agenda to structure the call.

3. Company Overview: [Optional] Briefly highlight the main problems you solve to qualify the buyer.

4. Problem Identification: Uncover urgent, high-priority problems.

5. Root Cause Analysis: Identify root causes to position your solution effectively.

6. Broaden the Impact: Show how the problem affects multiple teams to increase urgency and start the multi-threading process.

7. Solution Scoping: Define what the right solution is and highlight your unique capabilities.

8. Set Next Steps: Secure a follow-up on the call to prevent ghosting.

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